Naoya Inoue recently cemented his status as one of, if not the, best pound-for-pound fighters in the world with a win over countryman Junto Nakatani. The question is, can anybody beat him before he hangs up the gloves?
The Japanese phenomenon defended his four super-bantamweight belts for the seventh time against Nakatani at a sold-out Tokyo Dome, preserving his undefeated record in what many deemed to be the toughest test of his career so far.
With retirement not too far in the distance, the two-division undisputed champion intends to tackle one more weight class before he calls time on a Hall of Fame campaign. Ready and willing at 126lbs is Brooklyn’s Bruce Carrington.
Speaking to ES News, the WBC Featherweight champion said that watching the Nakatani fight only strengthened his belief that he is the man to beat ‘The Monster’.
“To be honest, I saw a lot of things that I can’t really say on here. I’ve been ready. Inoue is still a spectacular fighter, but I just know I have what it takes to beat him. Nakatani’s no slouch. I expected a good fight … he did what he needed to do to win.”
‘Shu Shu’, who won the vacant title against Carlos Castro in January and will return to the ring to defend it against Rene Palacios in July, then said that he will take the Inoue fight whenever it is offered.
“100%. I’m ready right now, I’m ready today, I’m ready tomorrow, I’m ready whenever. Come to the Shu Shu show, baby. I can’t wait to share the ring with you. It’s gonna be fireworks.”
Inoue has made his plans clear – fight once more at super-bantamweight, most likely against Jesse Rodriguez, and then move up to featherweight, which he has indicated will be the final challenge of his career. While he hasn’t mentioned Carrington by name, the 33-year-old says he wants to go straight for the belts.
As a long-reigning champion and pound-for-pound star moving up in weight, the sanctioning bodies would likely have no issue approving the opportunity.
Many fans, however, will believe that ‘Bam’ Rodriguez can upset those plans. The 26-year-old is set to move up to bantamweight to challenge for Antonio Vargas’ WBA title with a view to then making the Inoue fight happen in early 2027.